Underground conduits, such as, for example, fiber-optic or coaxial cables, power lines, telephone lines, and pipelines for water, sewage, gas, or other fluids, are often susceptible to accidental or malicious damage resulting from drilling, excavation, or explosives, or unanticipated damage from tree root growth, seismic activity, ground settlement, failure of backfill material, or other natural events. The resulting system failures (e.g., loss of power/signal, environmental leakage) may remain undetected and/or un-locatable within the conduit system, as the damaged portion of the conduit may not be visible. One example of a particularly serious risk involves the rupture of underground natural gas pipelines, where undetected leakage may result in fires or explosions, and a substantial toll in loss of life and property damage. Underground leakage of other combustible or toxic fluids may present similar undetected hazards.